The Bones of Black Shuck, the Hellhound, may have been found.

Devil dogs and hell hounds have a special place in the legends of the British Isles. You wouldn’t want to meet one of these beasts alone in the
dark, on a lonely moor – you probably wouldn’t live to tell the tale...

But maybe, just maybe there is some truth to these legends.
Archaeologists have recently discovered the bones of an enormous dog in the ruins of Leiston Abbey, Suffolk, England. The animal would have stood 7ft
tall on its hind legs and has been estimated to weigh around 200lbs.
It comes from the same era as legends of Black Shuck, the infamous black devil dog of the area which terrorised the local community.

"The encounter on the same day at St Mary's Church, Bungay was described in ‘A Straunge and Terrible Wunder’ by the Reverend Abraham Fleming in
1577:
This black dog, or the devil in such a likeness (God he knoweth all who worketh all,) running all along down the body of the church with great
swiftness, and incredible haste, among the people, in a visible form and shape, passed between two persons, as they were kneeling upon their knees,
and occupied in prayer as it seemed, wrung the necks of them both at one instant clean backward, in so much that even at a moment where they kneeled,
they strangely died."

The remains of this massive creature were found just a few miles from St. Mary’s, fuelling speculation that Black Shuck has been caught at last.

a reply to: beansidhe
This showed up when I went to the cemetery few days ago.
Reminded me of Hellhound. (used to show up around cemeteries/graveyards and that creepy stuff -- according to the legends)

sorry for the quality of the pic (even though it was taken with the 5S), wish I had my Nikon in my car on that night

a reply to: beansidhe
It could be an Irish wolf hound-They are one of the few dogs which could reach that size,along with great danes as already mentioned.
Maybe it was a special dog rather than a hellhound-I say that as it was buried in the ruins of an abbey-Thats where monks/nuns would have lived and
worked.
Its possible that the dog was buried on holy ground as it did something worthy when alive-maybe it fought off bandits or invaders.
Not just any dog would have been buried in the abbey grounds IMO.
I wonder if any documents from the abby at the time could shed more light on the bones?

It is interesting that it was buried on Holy ground, as if it were a special dog. As far as I know, no stories exist of Black Shuck ever being killed
or captured so whether it was put there quickly and quietly one night, in fear, or whether it was a beloved pet we don't know.
It would be interesting to know how it died, definitely.

aww!! That's prolly because you can't see his legs & body in the picture

, I could see the whole dog pretty clearly with the naked eye, my iPhone
hasn't felt really comfortable while taking a photo in such low-light conditions. The only light visible is the light from the moon, so the rest of
his body faded into a vague shadow.

I'm sure he was lovely but there's no way I'd want to meet him alone on a dark night! Irish wolfhounds are that sort of size too I think, so maybe
the skeleton will turn out to be one of either of those types.

More about the Black Shuck legend can be found on this fascinating website: www.hiddenea.com...

The account from Suffolk in 1577 has been attributed to a severe thunderstorm with side orders of ball lightning and/or tornado. A church in the
village of Blythburgh also seems to have been hit on the same day - I've seen scorch marks there said to have been left by the devil. They aren't
that conclusive or impressive, but it is an amazing place to visit.

The most famous event connected with St Mary's church is the apparition of the devil in the disguise of a Black Dog in 1577. During a storm
on Sunday, August 4th, a terrifying thunderstorm occurred with such - 'darkness, rain, hail, thunder and lightning as was never seen the like'.
Storms were always greatly feared during a period when most houses were built of timber and thatch and a lightening strike could quickly set large
areas of a town ablaze. As the people knelt in fear, praying for mercy, suddenly there appeared in their midst a great black Hell Hound. It began
tearing around the Church, attacking many of the congregation with its cruel teeth and claws. An old verse records: 'All down the church in midst of fire, the hellish monster flew
And, passing onward to the quire, he many people slew'
Then as suddenly as it had appeared, it ran off, departing for Blythburgh Church about twelve miles away where it killed and mauled more people.
Bungay Church was damaged, the tower struck by lightening and the Church clock was broken in pieces. Although there is no official record of injuries
caused, the Churchwardens account book mentions that two men in the belfry were killed.
Nowadays we would attribute the whole event to the Church having been struck by lightning but, in that superstitious age, many accidents and
disasters were considered to be the work of the Devil. There had long been a belief that a Satanic black hound roamed the area and so it was easy to
believe for people in the dark interior of the Church, that this evil beast was responsible for the catastrophe.
St Mary's Church still attracts many visitors who come to see where this strange event took place but whereas the door in Blythburgh Church still
retains the scorch marks of the Devils claws there is no similar evidence surviving in Bungay.
The Black Dog is sometimes associated with Black Shuck, another spectral hound which haunts the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts. Many people still claim to
see these beasts today and a sighting usually results in death or disaster of some kind.

The Wikipedia entry on Black Shuck is also worth a read for those interested in folk tales and legend.

mastiff breads can grow big even more so in ancient times ...during roman times these beasts were pitted in the arena's against bears and
lions....even today mastiff grow as big or even bigger than the beast found in the OP...

I f I read things correctly, there was a terrible storm at the time. Some dogs absolutely freak out during storms. I had a dog who used to be
terrified out of his wits during a thunderstorm and run away. I bet this what happened although it sounds like a huge and aggressive dog.
Speaking of huge dogs, the biggest dog I have ever seen was at a vets 's. He was black and extremely hairy and looked like a yak. They brought him to
the vet on a small pick up truck and tied him down. He could have been a cross newfoundland or something. This dog was enormous, as big as a half
grown calf. Our puppy started barking at him. I have seen great danes and wolf hounds but this was something else indeed. Does anyone know what it
could have been?

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